Start Your SCOTUS

To most of us, the Supreme Court is this somewhat amorphous entity that makes important decisions, but rarely seems to affect our everyday lives. That's the perception anyway. For this coming Fall term, though, the court has picked up a couple of cases that will be felt almost immediately. The first comes in a case out of Indiana where a new law requires you to show a photo ID in order to vote. With a presidential election coming next year, the decision could change the way states handle polling. There's another case out of Kentucky that, by one report, is the first time the Court will hear a challenge to an execution method since 1879. The justices will decide if the so-called cocktail administered in lethal injection executions amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. David Savage will have all the details on what's coming up this term, and how it might affect you (feel free to post your questions). And, Jeffrey Rosen will talk a little about the makeup of this court, and what it might mean in terms of the opinions.

Scott Cameron

1:59 PM ET | 09-27-2007 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Muffy, Fluffy, Tinkerbell, and Audrey

You mean, you wouldn't want to take her everywhere?

Source: BarrieJH

It's true, Sarah and I will take any opportunity to promote our kitties on the blog. We are shameless kitty promoters -- of Winston and Audrey, particularly. Sarah, in fact, walks Win on a leash, which I only wish I could make Audrey do. Unfortunately, Audrey is a) terrified of anything outside of my apartment (and a few things in it), and b) incredibly fuzzy, and I would be nervous that someone's throat would close up at the sight of her. And that, my friends, is the subject of Ask Amy today. Brit and Paris have started a few very-rude trends (remember when Britney simply could not remember her drawers?*), but the most pervasive isn't the underpants, and, er... jail, it's the Tiny Dog in Bag phenomenon (TDB). Bringing Muffy** and Tinkerbell to the store is now ubiquitous, and people are getting pretty steamed about it. What do you think? Should Fluffy be in Saks? Or the frozen food aisle? Is it rude, or just irritating?

*Nothing SFW I can link to. Or SFMM (my Mother), which is an even higher bar. Thanks, Mom!

**Muffy, to my knowledge, is not one of Britney's dogs names.

***CAN YOU BELIEVE SHE HAS A WIKIPEDIA ENTRY!?!?!!?

Barrie Hardymon

1:58 PM ET | 09-27-2007 | permalink | comments (72) | e-mail post

Tales of Graceful Aging

We'll talk with Nicole Hollander in the second hour today. You might know her from the Sylvia comic strip, or her comedy shows. This time, she's talking about her new book, Tales of Graceful Aging from the Planet Denial. A book that has her doing media interviews all over the country. And she was nice enough to do a little guest blogging for us:

What's surprising to me about being on a book tour, since I've never been on one before, is that my cartoon strip Syliva is easier to do. My sciatic nerve is acting up, my house is a mess, I'm stressed and yet ideas for my cartoon strip come pouring out. I just have to stop and write them down. Is stress a cure for writer's block? Maybe I should subject myself to more stress, like showing up at an airport during a snow storm, carrying a large bottle of contact lens fluid and a swiss army knife in my carry on luggage. Or watch a marathon of CSI Miami, CSI New York, Law & Order, and Cold Case and Criminal Minds while drinking huge amounts of coffee and chocolate doughnuts. Surely something would give?

-Nicole Hollander

What are your stories of graceful... or not so graceful... aging? If 60 is the new 40, when do we get to be old and just relax?

Scott Cameron

1:57 PM ET | 09-27-2007 | permalink | comments (9) | e-mail post

Offset THIS!

Carbon offsets are super-buzzy these days as green gets less gross and more (I just can't say groovy, I'm sorry) hot. Everybody's doing it (well, those who can afford it) -- paying to have the carbon they produce, often via air travel, offset by something that reduces carbon by an equal amount. In more concrete terms, the money goes to purchase windmills or plant trees... To me, it sounds a little bit green, and a little bit like throwing money at a problem to assuage your guilt. Stanford research fellow and author Peter Schweizer wondered, why stop at carbon? Pollution's a big problem, but it's not the only thing we do wrong. Me, I'm a speeder. That's bad. So according to Schweizer, to offset my sins maybe I should be giving money to schools to help pay for crossing guards or to communities for speed bumps or cameras. I'm also a pretty serious sugar-addict... but I think my dentist is more than compensated for that. What do you need to offset, and how would you do it?

Sarah Handel

1:56 PM ET | 09-27-2007 | permalink | comments (24) | e-mail post

September 27th Show

For our last show of the week... oh my, and for the month of September (time. it does fly) here is what we're working on today:

Next Monday is considered to be "first Monday" in the Supreme Court world. The first Monday in October marks the start of the court's new term. Los Angeles Times Supreme Court reporter David Savage will give us a sneak preview on some upcoming cases, including voter IDs, the lethal injection debate, and others. Following that topic, we're going to ask the women a question. Do you tuck your dog in your handbag as your personal travel accessory? Chicago Tribune's syndicated columnist Ask Amy's" Amy Dickinson has received a lot of letters about this growing trend. At this rate, we may need to go from referring to dogs as 'man's best friend' to 'girl's best shopping buddy.' Paris Hilton, anyone?

In our second hour, Nicole Hollander joins us. She is the creator of the comic strip Sylvia and has written a new book entitled, Tales of Graceful Aging from the Planet Denial. She puts a much needed humorous spin on getting older, and according to the title of her first entry, "the sixties are your most creative years." After that, Peter Schweizer of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University will suggest ways we can offset away our guilt. According to his op-ed that appeared in USA Today, moral offsets can be applied to all areas of our lives that we would otherwise like to erase.

Anthony Brooks will be with us all next week. Enjoy today's program!

Gwen Outen

11:24 AM ET | 09-27-2007 | permalink | e-mail post

Just Pick a Team Already

Did I really hear Hillary Clinton refuse to answer a question last night about which team she'd root for in a hypothetical World Series? I'm a fairly impartial person, but not when it comes to the Cubs. And Hillary grew up in the Chicago suburbs, she's a North-sider. Of course she'd root for the Cubs. Wouldn't she?

RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, what about a World Series - Yankees and Cubs? CLINTON: Well, you know, I've worried about that because I think, given the Cubs' record, which of course, I hope it happens, but it could very well be a sign of the coming apocalypse, were that to ever occur. It would be so out of history that you would have the Cubs versus the Yanks. Then I'd be really in trouble. RUSSERT: But who would you be for? CLINTON: Well, I would probably have to alternate sides.

OK, I see a political argument for not talking about specifics on Iraq, or taxes, or other policy issues. But, is there a politically expedient reason to not have a favorite baseball team? Thinking like a Cubs fan, maybe the safe route is to go with the Cubbies on this one. There's a lot of sympathy for the team, it has been about a hundred years since they've won a World Series. Who couldn't get behind an underdog like that? Then again, Cubs fans are used to disappointment (and I don't say that happily), while Yankees fans expect to win. In that case, if Hillary backs the Yanks, Cubs fans might be more likely to forgive and forget (and wait till next year). Yankee fans might not only NOT vote for her for President, but impeach her from the senate, too. In the end, though, does it matter? Can a candidate for president really not get behind a team for fear of losing votes?

Scott Cameron

11:05 AM ET | 09-27-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Life, Without Parole. Or Books?!

For years, gang violence has been a major problem in American prisons. Now, it seems, religious radicalism is a growing concern. To curb it, The Bureau of Prisons began the Standardized Chapel Library Project. With the help of several religious scholars, whose names haven't been made public, the Bureau determined what religious texts prison chapel libraries can carry. Laurie Goodstein, who covers religion for The New York Times, got her hands on the official list. "There are nine titles by C.S. Lewis," she writes. "And none from the theologians Reinhol Niebuhr, Karl Barth and Cardinal Avery Dulles, and the influential pastor Robert H. Schuller." Inmates and advocates were outraged. In response to mounting criticism, the Bureau of Prisons announced that it has decided "to alter its planned course of action with respect to the Chapel Library Project." According to a spokeswoman, "The Bureau will begin immediately to return to chapel libraries materials that were removed in June 2007, with the exception of any publications that have been found to be inappropriate, such as material that could be radicalizing or incite violence. The review of all materials in chapel libraries will be completed by the end of January 2008." In the first hour, we'll talk about the motivations behind this controversial program: religious radicalism in America's prison system. Is it a problem? Should the government be more worried about it?

David Gura

1:59 PM ET | 09-26-2007 | permalink | comments (13) | e-mail post

What if You Held a Debate and (almost) Nobody Showed Up?

It's Junkie Day here at TOTN, in a political sense. And there's plenty to talk about. Democrats debate tonight at Dartmouth... Republicans (those who agreed to show up, anyway) face off at Morgan State University tomorrow night. But, it's the five candidates who aren't coming that are getting all the attention this week. None of the top contenders plan to be there... No McCain, Giuliani, Romney. And no Thompson or Tancredo, either. Is this a Republican snub of black voters? Or just a scheduling conflict? We'll talk with Armstrong Williams about it. Larry Craig is back in court today, trying to take back that guilty plea... and trying to save what's left of his career in the senate. Ken Rudin will be here to answer all your questions (just don't bring up the Yankees loss).

Scott Cameron

1:58 PM ET | 09-26-2007 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

At Bat: Bill Littlefield

You may know Bill Littlefield from his NPR show, Only a Game. Or maybe you remember the bazillions of appearances he's made on other NPR programs. Or maybe you just know* Bill Littlefield. Bill knows two things insanely well: sports and writing. His name may be primarily associated with baseball, but Bill covers it all, from horse-racing to golf, and writes about it with enviable elan. He's a poet, a reporter, and a wry observer of the human condition... and he pulls it all together in his new book, Only A Game. What's your favorite Bill Littlefield production?

*Our guest host, Anthony Brooks, does!

Sarah Handel

1:57 PM ET | 09-26-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Not Just A Good Public Restroom

There was a time when I disdained Starbucks*. In fact, those feelings still pop-up now and then when I'm stuck using some ridiculous combination of words ("iced venti doppio," ugh), when I really just want two shots of espresso in a large cup. But it's hard not to admire the company -- all that venti shmenti business notwithstanding. They sell a remarkably consistent product, and in most Starbucks, the service is friendly and fast. Their ubiquitousness has been bad for my favorite Mom and Pop coffee shops, and good for folks looking for a quick visit to a ladies room. 'Bucks has been particularly good to Michael Gates Gill, author of How Starbucks Saved My Life. The son of the late New York Times critic Brendan Gill, he grew up around snooty coffee types (he once petted John Updike's hair). But years later, he found himself out of a job, a relationship, and worst of all -- health insurance. When a Starbucks manager offered him a job, he took it (and the health insurance the company offers), and turned his life around. (While he tours with the book, he's still planning on working one day a week! One wonders what will happen when the movie comes out?!) Mike Gill will be here to take your questions... and possibly your orders.

*Not to be confused with Starbuck of BSG fame, whom I completely adore. Though the show and the shop have some weird nomenclature stuff in common. Can you order an iced Viper, I wonder?

Barrie Hardymon

1:56 PM ET | 09-26-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

September 26th Show

We start our program today with a discussion about religion in the prison system. Terrorism experts fear that American prisons galvanize some inmates who convert to radical Islam and other extreme religions views that promote acts of violence. As a result, the federal Bureau of Prisons ordered prison chapel libraries to remove all religious books, videos, CDs and tapes that are not included on an approved list of materials... and have since modified that order to only remove those publications "found to be inappropriate, such as material that could be radicalizing or to incite violence." But is the move unconstitutional? Unethical? How serious is the threat of religion in prisons? Following that conversation, we go inside the world of politics. Our own political junkie Ken Rudin and republican media pundit Armstrong Williams talk about tomorrow's republican debate scheduled to take place on the campus of an African-American university... to which a number of candidates have decided to pull a no-show.

In our second hour, Bill Littlefield, author and host of NPR's sports show Only a Game, talks about how sports can actually tell a story about the human experience. In his new book, also entitled Only a Game, Littlefield explains why we must remain calm when it comes to watching sports, talking about sports, or playing a sport. Whether you win or lose, remember... it's only a game. Following that, author Mike Gill talks about how Starbucks saved his life. Apparently you can find happiness working in the darnedest places. Good thing there is a Starbucks on practically every corner!!!

Gwen Outen

11:47 AM ET | 09-26-2007 | permalink | e-mail post

Ain't No Trip to Cleveland

Owen Wilson's breakdown has been tabloid-fodder for weeks now, but it never felt like a grocery-aisle story to me. First, there are the details of the actual incident and Wilson's subsequent hospitalization, which remain -- appropriately -- guarded. From what I've gathered, his family and friends rushed to his side, and after a period of staying indoors and healing, Wilson has started to venture out. These few details are so much more mundane than tales of it-girl boozing/car-crashing/rehabbing cycles, and somehow more affecting, to me anyway. But that may be because Owen Wilson has been such a fixture in my life. I'll never forget seeing his first film, Bottle Rocket. The movie was passed around like a secret, and his character, Dignan, got to jaded college-me and cajoled his way into my psyche, reminding me that dreaming big is key to living. Around that same time a good friend of mine developed a massive celebrity crush on him, and Owen, as we know him, is someone with whom we've long been on a first-name basis without actually knowing. Since the days of Bottle Rocket, we've been with him throughout, in spite of "Butterscotch Stallion" allegations and it-couple dalliances... to us, he's still Dignan. It has long seemed the characters he plays are really all just Owen, with Dignan's pie-in-the-sky optimism tempered by Eli Cash's self-destructive impulses. All this is to say if you love Wilson's movies, particularly those he's made with Wes Anderson, John Seabrook's profile of these "Wonder Boys" for Men's Vogue is a must-read. Dig in, and root for Dignan.

Sarah Handel

10:23 AM ET | 09-26-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Integration Nation

The anniversary of the integration of Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas marks one milestone at the end of this country's struggle to end legal segregation. The next step -- real integration -- is taking longer than civil rights leaders might hoped. Today, we're talking about the value of racial diversity... in your professional lives, in your personal lives, in your community. We're talking to some really interesting people -- a historian who studies diversity in housing, and a teacher who edited a collection of essays about interracial friendships. (I urge you to read this essay of hers -- it's beautifully written, and will definitely give you something to think about.) Talk of the Nation is a veritable rainbow of folks -- black, white, Jewish (yours truly, oy), Latino, and at least two people with really great accents (Boston and Jamaican). I think it enriches my life, my relationships, and of course, unarguably, the show. It makes our editorial conversations richer, and our parties way more fun.

Barrie Hardymon

1:59 PM ET | 09-25-2007 | permalink | comments (26) | e-mail post

Strike Strategy

When we were in Detroit over the summer, there were already rumblings of how important the UAW negotiations would be. The car makers have to cut costs to survive, thanks to the competition from Asian companies like Toyota and Honda. On the other side of the table sit the union workers... hardworking people with families and mortgages and multiple generations in the auto plants. Keeping the two sides apart, of course, are issues like health care, pensions, pay, and job security. Intractable to say the least. Still, the strike took most people by surprise (including many of the workers now on strike). Analysts seem to think it will be a short strike, and for the most part workers say they hope to be back at work soon. We must have some of the striking workers, or their family members, in our audience. How long do you think the strike will last, and will it do any good?

Scott Cameron

1:58 PM ET | 09-25-2007 | permalink | comments (12) | e-mail post

Approaching Fluency

For most of us who try it, learning another language is a long, frustrating process. In middle school, I made stacks of flash cards to memorize Spanish vocabulary. My friends and I affected accents for class presentations and humiliating skits. And I dutifully conjugated verbs into the present perfect, the future perfect, the past perfect, and the imperfect. By the time I left for college, I was upset that all my hard work hadn't rendered me fluent. A few years later, I spent a semester in Bolivia. (Finally, a chance to put my Spanish to good use!). For weeks, almost every conversation was tedious. What tense is she using? What is the word for that? I must sound really stupid. (In retrospect, I'm sure I did). My host sister, Mariana, would roll her eyes at every malapropism. "That's so gringo," she'd say -- in English, to add further insult to injury. I swallowed my pride. I took solace in David Sedaris' stories of ex-pat life. And things got better. Eventually. Today, in the second hour, we'll talk to the editor of a new book, How I Learned English. If English is your second language, how did you learn it? Can you remember that moment when you finally felt fluent?

David Gura

1:57 PM ET | 09-25-2007 | permalink | comments (10) | e-mail post

KIT (Keep in Touch)

When I first started seeing my boyfriend, I frequently texted him instead of calling. The phone can be nerve-wracking when you're in a new relationship, and a text feels so much less invasive when you're communicating with someone whose schedule and routines you're unfamiliar with. Right? Well, at least that's how I rationalized my preference for the written word. Not so the boyfriend... He asked my why I did it, and (nicely) called texting the "lowest form of communication." Oops. He's not wrong -- his "lowest form" -- meaning least-committal and least-emotional -- was my least-interruptive and least-demanding. Reporter Natalie Y. Moore had an entire relationship over text, and after its demise, she analyzed the role of texting in relationships here and abroad. Moore discovered the Philippines is the most-texting country in the world. They've got informal rules and standards, and she thinks we need them too. What do you think? Are there inappropriate uses of text-messaging? Have you ever sent one to the wrong recipient? And what about the drunk-text: endearing, or annoying?

Sarah Handel

1:56 PM ET | 09-25-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

September 25th Show

Yesterday, our first hour discussion tackled some of the reasons why parents of black and white students choose segregated schools for their children. Today our show pendulum swings in the direction of integration. Fifty years ago today, nine black students attended their first full day of classes at the previously all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. But in the present day, has that historical moment lead to greater racial integration in your life? Just how important is racial diversity to you at work, in your neighborhood, in social circles? And do you feel economic class makes segregation unavoidable? Following that, we'll talk about the United Auto Workers' strike with New York Times writer Micheline Maynard.

I have often heard it said that English is one of the hardest languages to learn... and I can see their point. The letter 'e' can completely change the meaning of a word and alter its pronunciation (think 'man' and 'mane'). And don't get me started on the 'i' before 'e' rule. This may call for some creative intervention. Tom Miller is the editor of "How I learned English," a collection of essays from prominent Latino Americans about ways they mastered the English language. And Congressman Jose Serrano will join us. He wrote an essay called, "Learning English by the Sinatra Method." Yes, THE Frank Sinatra. No doubt Congressman Serrano may have mastered the language of crooning as well. Following that, we'll talk to Chicago Public Radio reporter Natalie Y. Moore who believes that while text messaging may be great for getting to know one another, it could actually kill romance. And we'll read from your letters and blog comments about sex offender registries, the Israel Lobby and U.S. foreign policy, and things lost...and found.

Gwen Outen

11:33 AM ET | 09-25-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

It's Taser Time!

Tasers have been on my mind lately; on the train the other day a woman was shrieking into her cell phone while the guy across the aisle blasted his iPod so loud I was subconsciously humming along to Journey. Oh, if only I had a Taser! And before you accuse me of being some sort of sadist or lacking humanity, let me pass the buck on to Rex Huppke. I blame his op-ed in the Chicago Tribune over the weekend for putting me in the mood to Tase (is that a word?).

I have a confession to make: When I saw a group of campus cops in Florida take a Taser to a vociferous 21-year-old student who was spouting off at a John Kerry Forum, I smiled.
I smiled a broad, uninhibited smile, one free from the constraints of political correctness and common human decency. And then I thought, "Hah! That mouthy, self-righteous twit had it comin'."
It was then I realized that, when it comes to certain people, I'm unabashedly pro-Tasering. And before you judge me, look inward. There's bound to be one person in your life, or at least someone in the news, who you'd love to see Tasered.
Maybe it's that relentless suck-up co-worker everyone gripes about. ZAP!
Or, perhaps, Kevin Federline. ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

Rex indulges his "inner mean streak" and comes up with some other good ideas on who'd he Taser at the Trib's site. And come on now, if we put aside all our righteous indignation for a few minutes, and realize that we're not talking about really hurting anyone, this could be a therapeutic (read: fun) exercise... There must be SOMEONE you think deserves a 50,000-volt wake up call?

Scott Cameron

10:30 AM ET | 09-25-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Jena... and Genarlow

By now, you may have heard of a little town in Louisiana called Jena. You may know it's pronounced GEE-nuh, and that there was an incident there involving high school students, race, and nooses hung from a schoolyard tree. But did you know that the beating in question took place almost a year ago? That the nooses went up long before that, last August? Black bloggers were all over the story nearly from the get-go thanks to a Chicago Tribune article by Howard Witt, but it took a VERY long time for the mainstream media to pick up on the story. Kind of reminds me of another long-ignored case of African American high school students facing charges... that of Genarlow Wilson (not to mention Shaquanda Cotton, another of Witt's subjects). Are the stories truly comparable? And if so, what does that say about the cases and the coverage?

Sarah Handel

12:48 PM ET | 09-24-2007 | permalink | comments (11) | e-mail post

Op-Cart Page

So, cartoons are clearly op-eds, as we've said before. And today, our op-ed is courtesy of Hector Cantu -- no thanks to Ken Burns. Burns' new World War II series The War has drawn complaints because it doesn't tell the stories of Latinos in the war -- Cantu decided that if Burns wasn't going to do it, he'd tell them in his comic strip Baldo. He's added a character -- a World War II vet -- named Benito "Benny" Ramirez, who's telling his stories of the war. Benny started his story on Monday, and he's continued it throughout last week and this one. Today, we'll talk to Hector Cantu about Benny, and hope that you'll post your stories here as well.

Barrie Hardymon

12:43 PM ET | 09-24-2007 | permalink | comments (23) | e-mail post

Choosing Segregation

We've heard a lot today about the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock. Nine students were escorted by federal troops past an angry mob of white students and parents, after the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Integration was the goal, but still many parents of all races choose segregation... not out of overt racism, but in an effort to find the best schools. We'll talk about choosing segregation on the show today. If you're a parent, or teacher, or a student... does integration factor into your decision on what school to attend? Is there a benefit to going to school with other students who like like you?

Scott Cameron

12:37 PM ET | 09-24-2007 | permalink | comments (37) | e-mail post

Interesting Guests, Unpronounceable Names

Last week we brought you Andrew Arulanandam. (Say that three times fast!) Today we welcome Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO Secretary General, long-distance runner, and devoted husband [of Jeannine de Hoop Scheffer-van Oorschot]. (Our guest host, Anthony Brooks, spent most of the morning perfecting his pronunciation of the Secretary's Dutch name.) De Hoop Scheffer will join us to talk about NATO, its role in Afghanistan, and the Russia-NATO Council. Maybe we can get him to talk about the time he got Punk'd, too!

David Gura

12:13 PM ET | 09-24-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

September 24th Show

Happy Monday! Neal Conan is off on a much needed vacation (in an undisclosed location) and filling in as guest host for the week is longtime NPR veteran reporter Anthony Brooks. We're happy to have him. Now let's get down to business. Here is what's shaking for today:

A half century after the Brown vs.The Board of Education ruling began an era of equal educational opportunities across racial lines, parents of both black and white students are choosing segregated schools for their children. In our first hour we'll talk about the reasons why some parents make that choice. Later in that hour, we'll talk with cartoonist Hector Kantu, co-creator and writer of the syndicated Baldo comic strip, about why he feels Ken Burns' The War series falls short in telling the story of the role of Latinos in World War Two.

In our second hour, we'll discuss how the mainstream media covers race. The Jena Six continue to make national news, but it took quite some time for the story to get picked up at all. So why did it take so long? How did mainstream media totally miss the story? And what does it say about how race is reported? We'll follow that discussion with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the fight to save Afghanistan.

Gwen Outen

12:05 PM ET | 09-24-2007 | permalink | e-mail post

Looking for Lunch

Mr. Bento lunch style.

Source: nadja.robot

This is going to sound really dorky, but you know how if you turn on your radio at four in the morning you can hear an NPR newscast? (I don't do it that often, but we had a coffee rub on our steak last night.) That's a live (semi, I'm sure) person. And you know how you can hear interviews at ungodly hours on Morning Edition with generals and reporters and others? That's because someone was up all night booking them (one of our newer staff members is a former ME booker -- she still bears some scars). Newscast and Morning are two essential parts of NPR -- and even though they're wonderful (I feel like I actually can't wake up without both of them), it's well known that working on both units is hard work that will really screw your circadian rhythms up. All this is to say that Talk of the Nation, besides being good fun and filled with great people, has very few drawbacks schedule-wise. Except one: The Great TOTN Lunch Conundrum (GTLC). That two o'clock (E.S.T.) deadline makes it very hard to eat. (I realize this pales in comparison to working the overnight -- I'm sorry, y'all.) Fighting the crush at the microwave is darn near impossible (it seems like everybody in this building eats Lean Cuisine and Trader J's). Basically, everybody on this show has a different strategy about how to raise their blood sugar when they're crashing on a deadline (I have a virtual pantry -- and an actual mouse.) So, when this cute little tool came to my attention, I was intrigued. The Mr. Bento (there's a Ms., too!) lunchbox enables you to heat up your lunch, and keep it cold, all ! But here's the thing I really love about it -- there's a Flickr group that's entirely dedicated to what they put in their Mr. Bento. It's called Mr. Bento Porn, and it's full of great lunch ideas (don't worry, it's not full of actual porn). The trick is, don't start looking at the pictures when you're on deadline -- a), it will suck you in, and b) you'll get hungry. It's a great use of social networking -- and an even better use of the lunchbox itself. I'm looking forward to documenting my lunch as soon as my Mr. Bento arrives. I am a journalist, after all.

Barrie Hardymon

9:56 AM ET | 09-24-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

In The Lobby

I'm always afraid to type in "Israel Lobby" to my computer for fear of what I'll see. Mania on the left and the right. Anti-Semitism, accusations of anti-Semitism. Charges of stifling the debate, debates that are hardly debates at all. But amongst all that sound and fury, the conversation does, for sure, signify something. The issue reached a fever pitch last year with the publication of a paper by two prominent academics -- John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt -- called "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy." They've turned the paper into a book now, and claim, that whether or not you agree with their thesis, it's important to talk freely about the unique relationship between the United States and Israel. We agree. John Mearsheimer will be on today, as will Aaron David Miller to critique him. We're interested in your perceptions of this troublesome issue, and why it raises our blood pressure to talk about it.

Barrie Hardymon

1:59 PM ET | 09-20-2007 | permalink | comments (16) | e-mail post

A Promise to the Dead

We've talked with Ariel Dorfman before, about his plays, his books, and his many op-eds. He lived the violent political struggle in Chile in the 1970's, serving as cultural attache to the country's president, Salvador Allende. After the coup in 1973, he was one of the few who worked with Allende to make it out alive. Now a professor at Duke in North Carolina, he has a new documentary movie out, A Promise to the Dead. It's Dorfman's story of what happened in Chile, and how he faced down some of the demons that still haunt him. As he puts it, it's a film, "on what I had learned and the people of Chile had learned from the sorrows of intolerance and the bleakness of tyranny, how we had grown from our ashes, how we had dealt with our pain and overcome the legacy of terror."

Scott Cameron

1:58 PM ET | 09-20-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Answers on Anbar

It's been an Iraq-progress buzzword, seemingly synonymous with the word success: Anbar. On the hill last week we heard it countless times, and by week's end if it hadn't entered your consciousness somehow, you must've been spending lots of time under a rock (OK, that's a little harsh... but you'd have to be somewhere with no news radio, no internet, and no newspaper headlines). Anyway, while we were covering day two of the Petraeus testimony, NPR's Tom Bowman mentioned a gentleman he said had a great story about how Anbar got to its current, reportedly more hopeful state: Army Colonel Sean MacFarland. He was there, and instrumental in turning the region around. Scott tracked him down, and today he'll tell us how it's possible that once-dangerous cities like Ramadi and Fallujah are now, though not perfectly safe, certainly less scary.

Sarah Handel

1:57 PM ET | 09-20-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Race, Rallies, and the Jena 6

The images from Jena, La. today is striking... masses of people unloading from buses to protest the charges against the "Jena Six." It's way too early to guess at how many people are there, but for a tiny town of about 3,000 people, it's not hard to overload the area. The racially charged story involves fights between black students and white students, criminal charges, and nooses hung from a tree. Today, we'll hear from one of the many bloggers who helped push this story into the mainstream. Shawn Williams is in Jena for the really. We'll also talk about the symbolism of the noose, and how it can mean such different things to different people.

Scott Cameron

1:29 PM ET | 09-20-2007 | permalink | comments (9) | e-mail post

September 20th Show

Here's a quick look at what is happening today:

Last year, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt wrote a controversial paper arguing that the power of the Israel Lobby has helped block progress towards peace in the Middle East, among other things. Those papers have been made into a book entitled The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy." John Mearsheimer talks about the book's theories and the intense criticism that followed the paper's initial publication. And Aaron David Miller joins us, and will take issue with Mearcheimer's arguments. We'll end our first hour with playwright, professor and author Ariel Dorfman. His biographical film, A Promise to the Dead, documents his return to Chile following a self-imposed exile.

We learn more about Iraq's Anbar province in our second hour. Army Col. Sean MacFarland returned from the province earlier this year and was a key figure in the military's efforts to stabilize its capital, Ramadi. He is among the guests who will paint a picture of the province, what the military is doing there, and the region's political importance in Iraq, and here in Washington. Following that, we will check in on the massive rally going on in Louisiana and hear from the African-American bloggers who helped drive the protest for equal justice. And, look at the cultural impact and symbolism of the hangman's noose.

Gwen Outen

12:19 PM ET | 09-20-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Jena 6 and the Evolution of a Story

Thousands of protesters are in Jena, Louisiana, this morning. In our second hour, we're going to talk to some of the bloggers and web organizers who publicized the story of the Jena 6 (see our show two weeks ago here), who raised its profile nationally. Where did you first hear about the Jena 6? What blogs have you used to follow the case?

David Gura

11:13 AM ET | 09-20-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

My Memories of Anbar

As noted elsewhere, we will talk today about Anbar Province, which President Bush, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker have all held up as the model of their new strategy in Iraq.
If you glance at a map of Iraq, there's a road that runs west from Baghdad and the Tigris, passes through Fallujah, crosses the Euphrates at Ramadi, the provincial capital, then divides. One branch runs northwest to the Syrian frontier, the other due west, to Jordan.
Sixteen years ago, just after the end of what we now call the First Gulf War, it was my road to freedom.
As some of you may remember, I was among a group of reporters captured by the Iraqi Army just after the fighting ended. The whole story is too long and complicated to relate here - shameless plug, I tell much of the story in a chapter of my book Play by Play - Baseball, Radio and Life in the Last Chance League - but, after a week or so that included some scary moments, we were released to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Baghdad, piled onto a bus, and spent much of the day driving across Anbar, across the border and on into Amman.
It's a desert, but does not match the shifting sands Lawrence of Arabia image. Most of what I saw is flat, hard stony ground that stretches away forever. Unimaginably vast, with just a few villages scattered here and there. I remember seeing a communications tower in Fallujah toppled by a smart bomb, and being amazed that the buildings nearby appeared almost undamaged. In 2004, of course, Fallujah was largely destroyed. Back in 2001, there were dozens of charred trucks littered on the side of the highway - attacked by U.S.A.F. fighter bombers in the belief that they were mobile launchers for the Scud missiles Iraq fired at Israel. It later emerged that none of the mobile Scuds was hit, and that the wreckage I saw was of trucks driven by brave or foolhardy men willing to take the risks of the highway in hopes of great profits in Baghdad.
It all seemed so awful and so sad. And it's hard to fathom how much more awful, and much sadder it is now.

Neal Conan

10:40 AM ET | 09-20-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Bye, Bye, Blackwater?

Earlier this week, the Iraqi government announced that it intends to expel Blackwater USA, a private security firm, based in eastern North Carolina, from Iraq. On Sunday, some employees of Blackwater USA were involved in a shooting that left several Iraqi civilians dead. The company has government contracts to protect senior American personnel in Iraq. As a North Carolinian, I learned about Blackwater USA early. In 2004, my friend and former teacher, Barry Yeoman, profiled the company for Mother Jones magazine. Months later, Jay Price and Joseph Neff, staff writers for The News & Observer, wrote a series of articles about Blackwater USA. Now that the United States has a smaller military, private security companies have a lot of work. Is that a good thing? Since the war in Iraq began, nothing has happened to any of Blackwater USA's high-profile targets. Are they doing work that the American military simply cannot do?

David Gura

1:59 PM ET | 09-19-2007 | permalink | comments (11) | e-mail post

Hillary Care, an AG Nominee, and Guns... Oh My!

Last week, our Political Junkie segment was all Iraq... the hearings, the President's speech, rebuttals, etc, etc. This week, Hillary care, an AG nominee, attack ads, and guns join Iraq on the political agenda in Washington. And, the race for president in 2008 just keeps getting more and more crowded. Who betrayed MoveOn.org this time? Who else is retiring? Who's jumping into the fray? We'll talk about it all when Ken Rudin swings by for our weekly hit of the Political Junkie. Questions? Comments? Let us know...

Scott Cameron

1:58 PM ET | 09-19-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Dave Barry Sez...

This is not Dave Barry.

Source: ninjapoodles

Dave Barry drives a Cruzin Cooler around Coral Gables, Florida.
Dave Barry thinks a Marie Antoinette ejector head doll makes a great gift for your son or daughter.
Dave Barry knows why there's a giant eyeball on the dollar bill... and says three of those dollar bills per week is the perfect allowance for your kids.
Dave Barry spent a year sitting around and working on his toenails.
All of these statements are true, at least according to Dave Barry. What truths have you learned from him? He's got a new book out, Dave Barry's History of the Millennium -- So Far, which means you're about to learn some real and useful facts about the last six or seven years... and as a bonus, he's got a history of the previous thousand years for you, too!

Sarah Handel

1:57 PM ET | 09-19-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Evil On A Lunch Break

Auschwitz is a universally acknowledged symbol of horror and inhumanity. It turns out, that like many places, it's also a place of predictability and banality as well. An archivist at the United States Holocaust Museum was sent these pictures of SS guards and other Auschwitz employees frolicking, relaxing, and enjoying themselves outside of their horrifying work. See more here. It's a stunning reminder that the men and women who perpetrated these crimes were terrifyingly human -- just like the people they were torturing.

Barrie Hardymon

1:56 PM ET | 09-19-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

September 19th Show

Hi all. Busy day...but today's show looks like it's coming together quickly. Our first hour will be a discussion about U.S. contractors in Iraq. The Iraqi government recently decided to ban the private security contractor Blackwater USA after a deadly gunfight broke out in Baghdad. We'll talk about the role of American private contractors in Iraq and their participation within an ongoing military operation. Following that, our own political junkie Ken Rudin talks about Hillary Clinton's universal health care plan, the new Attorney General nominee, and the National Rifle Association's upcoming convention in Washington D.C. and the presidential candidates that are scheduled to attend.

So much has happened in the new millennium already that it's hard to image how we can possibly keep track of it all. Luckily, humorist Dave Barry has written all the note-worthy events down and compiled them in his new book, Dave Barry's History of the Millennium (So Far). We'll review the millennium years with Dave Barry in our second hour. Afterwards, we'll talk with Rebecca Erbelding, an archivist at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She recently received over one-hundred photos that were discovered in a Frankfurt basement depicting the seemingly normal day-to-day lives of senior SS officers in Auschwitz.

Enjoy today's show!

Gwen Outen

11:51 AM ET | 09-19-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

RBs Rule, DBs Drool

The other day Scott passed me a fantastic column by Dave Zirin, who's always a favorite of ToTN. We had him on recently, so it wasn't a good fit for the air, but Scott knew I, in particular, would be interested in Zirin's latest piece on fantasy football. I'm a reasonably dedicated fantasy fan, and a huge Washington Redskins fan, so I latched onto Zirin's article immediately... and despaired to read that he thinks fantasy football is more disease than diversion. Zirin opines,

Those who puff the hookah of fantasy football believe that the leagues are just a harmless diversion that puts the average fan in a position to be "more involved" in the game. But behind the veneer of crunching numbers and poring over player statistics that goes into creating a fantasy team is more disengagement than involvement. Indeed, the numbers act as a moat between fantasy owner and the actuality of the game.

Basically, Zirin argues that fantasy football emphasizes the performances of individual players, forcing fans to pay more attention to the athlete than the team. I think he's right, but it's only a problem for some fantasy coaches. I used to be in a pretty intense fantasy league (so intense that I had to resign this year due to ugly politics... I get enough of politics at work, I don't need it in my recreational time!), and there were guys in the league who spent hours poring over stats, reading analysis, and checking the automatically-updating progress of their players every couple of minutes. While I wouldn't accuse any of them of abandoning their favorite teams (marquee Falcons were hot commodities, as the league was Georgia-based), their focus was definitely split, to say the least. For me, however, it made me much more aware of the league as a whole. As a long-time Redskins fan, I could speak fairly intelligently about that team, and probably about division rivals, but that was about it, till fantasy. Now I have a better understanding about the league as a whole. While it may not be terrifically deep, it's definitely more broad, and it makes Sundays even more fun, since I have six or seven years of fantasy teams behind me and can follow the players. One year, for instance, I had tons of Giants on my team, so I still follow Ike Hilliard (now in Tampa Bay), and another year it was Colts Colts Colts, so Brandon Stokely's still a random favorite of mine, even though he's since moved on to Denver. I think Zirin's point is a good one, and he's right -- outside of my Redskins, it's still all about individual players for me -- but ultimately, the camaraderie of fantasy has only enhanced my enjoyment of the NFL season. And, lucky me, I drafted Clinton Portis this year, so no conflict of interest there!

Sarah Handel

10:57 AM ET | 09-19-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Tracking Sex Offenders

If there was a convicted sex offender living on your street, you'd want to know about it, right? Or maybe you don't. Either way, it's a fairly common knee-jerk reaction, particularly if you're a single female concerned about your safety, and especially if you've got kids. But Human Rights Watch has a new report, and it says these registries are inhumane and don't protect anyone from crime because the old adage, "once a sex offender, always a sex offender" isn't actually true. Plus, you can end up on these registries for offenses as mild as public urination. Should there be limits to who can access these registries, or who is listed on them? Also, have you checked out the information on your community? How has it affected your choices about where to live, where to walk, or where to let your children play?

Sarah Handel

1:59 PM ET | 09-18-2007 | permalink | comments (78) | e-mail post

The Juice in Jail

Oh, O.J. I have no idea what he did in that hotel room in Vegas, but I do know that he's in jail awaiting a hearing for it. And once again, people are talking about O.J. Simpson. Was a gun involved? Was he setup? Is race an issue? What was he thinking? It's up to the courts to decide the facts, but the public will make up their own minds. And, as Earl Ofari Hutchinson points out, they are...

Whether the police did rush to judgment as Simpson claims -- and there's probably a little wiggle room to debate the magnitude of the charges -- and he eventually stands trial, the chatter from most will be that a killer is finally getting at least some of his due. Others will say that even Simpson can be a victim of a vindictive and unforgiving criminal justice system. The truth as always may lie somewhere between the two views. In any case, Simpson will do his best to make sure that an unbelieving world believes that even he can be falsely accused.

What do you believe? Do you even care about O.J. Simpson?

Scott Cameron

1:58 PM ET | 09-18-2007 | permalink | comments (11) | e-mail post